


Woe

by JCapasso



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25104874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso
Summary: After the disastrous ritual to break Klaus' curse that cost the lives of Jenna and Elena, and Stefan sacrifices himself to Klaus to cure his brother, Alaric and Damon are all each other has left. Can two broken souls help each other heal and find peace again?
Relationships: Alaric Saltzman/Damon Salvatore
Comments: 10
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

Damon laid miserably in the cold cell, trying to figure out how his life had gotten so messed up. It had all started with that damned ritual. Elena insisted on trusting that stupid elixir of Elijah’s and surprise surprise…it didn’t work. Color him shocked. He should have just forced his blood down her throat like he thought about doing, but no. He had to go and have a crisis of conscience at the worst possible moment and it cost Elena her life. And his stupid attempt at heroics was now costing him his own and it had been pointless anyway. Saving Caroline and Tyler just got Jenna used instead. If there was one good thing about Elena dying, at least she didn’t have to carry any more loss. And neither would he soon enough. 

His brother was an idiot if he thought he was going to find a cure for a werewolf bite. Especially in the little bit of time he had left. Stefan couldn’t even let him end his life on his own terms because of course Damon doesn’t get to choose for himself. Elena can decide to die and it’s ‘her choice’ but not him. Not even when he’s already dying anyway. What was the point in prolonging his agony? Oh right. A miracle cure that probably doesn’t even exist. And he has to spend his last painful moments stuck in this miserable cell because Stefan ‘can’t trust him’ to be alone while he’s out looking for it. He wasn’t sure if the illness was messing with his head or not when he heard a voice from outside the cell. 

“You look like hell, buddy,” Ric said, making an attempt at levity but it fell flat. His heart wasn’t in it. His heart wasn’t in much these days. He’d just lost the woman he loved and his sort of step-daughter in one fell swoop and the kid he was coming to see as a son was now living with an uncle that would likely never let Ric near him outside of school. There wasn’t much to be happy about. 

“Well I feel great,” Damon muttered sarcastically. “If you’re not a hallucination, you mind letting me out of here?” 

Ric opened the door and stepped in, realizing just how weak Damon was as he helped him to his feet and the vampire leaned heavily on the human. Ric practically dragged him up the stairs to his bed and laid him down. “Comfortable now?” he asked. He had gotten a text from Stefan to come by when he could and let Damon out. As long as someone was there to stop him from killing himself, he hadn’t wanted Damon to waste away in there. 

“You got a stake on you?” Damon asked weakly as he was overtaken by a coughing fit. 

Ric winced and waited for the coughing fit to pass before he said, “I’m not gonna kill you, Damon.”

“Of course not. God forbid the evil one be spared a moment of his rightful agony before the end,” Damon grumbled. 

Ric reached out and put a hand on Damon’s shoulder comfortingly as he said, “That’s not it, Damon. The moment your brother calls me and says there’s no hope, I’ll give you the mercy you want.”

“I’m telling you there’s no hope,” Damon groaned as another spasm of pain hit. Ric stripped off his overshirt for lack of anything else nearby and started mopping the sweat from Damon’s brow. “A thousand years of history and there’s never been a cure for a werewolf bite. You think he’s gonna find one now?” 

“In the last thousand years of history there’s never been a werewolf vampire hybrid either,” Ric pointed out. “I agree it’s a long shot, but as long as there’s a chance we’re not giving up.” 

“Why do you even care?” Damon asked feebly. “I got Jenna killed.”

“Trying to save Caroline and Tyler. You couldn’t have known that Klaus would use her,” Ric said with a wince at her name. “And I care because you’re my friend. And because you’re all I have left now. I can’t take losing anyone else.” 

“Everyone you’ve lost is because of me,” Damon pointed out, trying to keep enough strength for this. The least he could do is ease the pain of one of the only people who gave a shit. “I took Isobel from you…” he coughed and groaned. “I got Jenna killed. Elena…I could have saved her…with my blood…”

“I know what you’re doing Damon and it’s not gonna work,” Ric told him. 

“I killed you,” Damon reminded him. 

“In self-defense. And you’ve saved me more than once too.” Damon was trying to push him away. To make him not care. And it wasn’t going to work. 

“From situations I caused,” Damon seized up again with a cry of pain. 

“I told you it’s not gonna work, Damon,” Ric said with a huff. 

“Listen…Ric…Tell Stefan I’m sorry,” Damon said softly. “I spent so long blaming him…but no one forced me to love her…it was my choice…I made the wrong choice…I’m sorry.” 

“I’ll tell him, buddy,” Ric promised, wiping his balled-up shirt over Damon’s face again. His hair was matted to his head with sweat, but at least he could keep it out of his eyes. 

“I deserve this…” Damon gasped out, losing his hold on consciousness. “I deserve to die.”

“Maybe,” Ric admitted. “That’s not my place to judge. But I don’t deserve to lose my last friend. Stefan doesn’t deserve to lose his brother. So you keep fighting okay?” 

“Can’t,” Damon breathed out as his eyes closed against his will. 

“Elena?!” Ric asked incredulously as she stepped into the room. 

“Nope,” the woman chuckled.

“Right. Katherine,” Ric huffed. 

“Is that any way to talk to the one who brought the cure?” she smirked, waving the bottle as she walked over to the bed. 

Ric moved out of the way to let her get to Damon and the vampire managed to open his eyes a crack as she settled on the bed next to him. “You got free,” he said almost in relief as she put the bottle to his lips. 

“Finally,” she sighed. 

“And you still came here,” Damon half asked feebly once he’d drank the cure. 

“I owed you one,” Katherine said, reaching up to caress his cheek gently before moving away. 

“Where’s Stefan?” Ric asked the question that he knew Damon would want the answer to once he was strong enough to consider it. 

“He’s paying for this,” she told him, tossing him the bottle. “He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn’t expect him anytime soon.”

“When /should/ we expect him?” Ric asked her. He’d never been as close to Stefan as he was to Damon. Stefan was his student after all. That didn’t mean he liked the idea of him in the hands of a madman. 

“Oh about ten years or so. Once he’s paid off his debt,” Katherine shrugged uncaringly. 

“And how is he going to do that?” Ric asked suspiciously. 

“He’s Klaus’ new chief enforcer, of course. Which means that I now need to put as much distance between this place and myself as possible, so if you’ll excuse me…” she smirked and walked out. 

Ric sighed. That wasn’t good news at all. He glanced over at Damon to see that he was asleep, but he looked better already. He was getting some color back in his skin. As much color as vampires got anyway. He didn’t have the sickly grey pallor anymore at least. And he wasn’t sweating anymore either. They would figure out what, if anything, to do about Stefan when he woke up. For now Ric would let him rest. He reached over and covered Damon with the blanket before pressing a hand to his forehead to make sure the fever was receding and then he headed into the next room. He didn’t want to go far. Not until he was sure that Damon was on the mend anyway and thankfully there were a few other rooms in this place that had beds. It was dusty and the sheets probably hadn’t been changed in forever, but he didn’t care right now. 

He laid there for hours trying to sleep, but there was too much going on in his head. God, he missed Jenna so much already. And Elena…she was practically his step-daughter. She was his wife’s daughter and then he was dating and practically living with her guardian. And Jeremy…John would never let him get close. John hated him and with good reason. John even blamed him for Jenna and Elena’s deaths. Like he could control what Klaus did with his body. At least he would still see Jeremy at school though. Unless John found a way around that too, of course. Then there was Stefan. Who had sacrificed himself to the whims of a madman to save his brother. A brother that had also lost way too much already.


	2. Chapter 2

Ric slept fitfully once he finally did get to sleep which was why he heard the buzz of the doorbell and got up to head downstairs, hoping he wasn’t going to have to give the news about Stefan to anyone else before he could give it to Damon. He deserved to know first. When he opened the door he was surprised and more than a little worried to find the sheriff standing there. “Alaric? What are you doing here?” 

“I could ask you the same,” he said suspiciously. “If you’re looking for Damon, he’s not here.” 

“I’m not here to arrest him. Or to hurt him. Just to talk,” she said honestly. She’d been talking to Caroline and even had the compulsion on her lifted so she remembered the last time too. She was trying to reconcile everything in her mind and wanted to reach out to Damon. 

“He’s not really up for company. He’s still recovering,” Ric told her. “Somewhere else,” he added, not wanting her to know that he was here and weak. 

“Are you a vampire too?” she asked him scrutinizingly. 

Ric snorted. “God no. No, I’m a vampire hunter actually.”

“And you’re friends with vampires?” Liz asked suspiciously. 

“I know. Strange friends right?” Ric chuckled. “I only kill bad vampires. Not the ones that are just as invested in protecting this town as I am. And you are.” 

“Fair enough,” Liz nodded. She still wasn’t sure what her opinion was on all that, but for now at least she was here in peace. “Can I come in?” she asked, getting tired of having this conversation on the stoop. Even if Damon wasn’t available maybe Alaric could help her come to terms with things. 

“I don’t know,” Ric said nervously. 

“Oh let her in,” Damon said as he was coming down the stairs. 

Ric opened the door the rest of the way before turning to Damon. “Are you sure you should be out of bed?” he asked worriedly, moving over to help Damon as he stumbled and had to hug the railing for support. “Well that answers that question.” 

“I’m fine,” Damon jerked his arm away irritably. “Just starving. And it looks like I have a buffet,” he smirked. 

Liz took a few steps back nervously with a hand on her gun, but Ric knew he was joking and snorted. “Nice try.” 

Damon turned to Liz as he reached them, still unsteady on his feet. “If you’re going to kill me, now’s your chance. I’m nice and weak. I might as well be gift-wrapped for you.”

Ric got between him and the sheriff. “What the hell are you doing Damon?” 

“What? I may have been delirious and hallucinating, but I clearly remember her shooting at me yesterday.”

Liz just watched the byplay curiously, taking the opportunity to try and figure them out as Alaric replied, “So you’re just gonna stand there and give her a free shot?”

“Why the hell not?” Damon asked. “I’ve lost everything. Again. For the umpteenth time in my life. What’s the point?” 

Ric gave him a shove as he snapped, “Your brother sacrificed himself to save your life. You’re really just gonna throw it away like that?” 

Damon stumbled slightly from the shove, at testament to his weakness, but he wasn’t that weak, and now he was pissed. He had Ric pinned against the wall by his throat, not noticing Ric waving Liz off. “You think I wanted that? I didn’t ask for it. I don’t deserve it. He deserves to have a life a lot more than I ever did.” 

“But it was his choice to give it up. For you. Are you really going to make it all in vain?” Ric snapped again. 

“Don’t push me,” Damon growled, tightening his hand around Ric’s neck. “All it would take is a twitch of my wrist.”

“Go ahead then,” Ric challenged. “Kill your last friend in the world and then let the sheriff kill you. It won’t save Stefan and then he’s trapped for nothing. But at least you’ll be free of it all, right? That’s what matters?” Damon’s face tightened and twitched as he tried to rein in his temper before pushing away from Ric who fell into a crouch massaging his neck. “Go eat, Damon. Before you do something you regret.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Damon growled before heading to the basement stairs. 

“Are you okay?” Liz rushed forward and asked as soon as Damon was out of sight. 

“I’m fine,” Ric waved her off. “Damon just gets cranky when he’s starving. He hasn’t been able to keep anything down for a few days.” 

“He could have killed you,” she said in shock. 

“Not likely. He’s not /that/ bad off. But even if he did, I’d just come back and kick his ass for it anyway.” 

“You’d try,” Damon said with a snort as he came back up, sipping on a blood bag.

“Are you sure you should be…um…in front of…” Ric looked between the blood bag and the sheriff. 

“It’s not like we have any more secrets, apparently,” Damon said irritably. “Just do me a favor and don’t stand behind me. Wouldn’t want any more accidents, now would we, Liz?” 

Liz winced at that and said, “No. Definitely not,” forcing herself not to rise to his tone. “What was…wrong with you?” Liz asked worriedly. 

“Werewolf bite. It’s fatal to vampires,” Damon said shortly. 

“He got bit saving Caroline and Matt,” Ric added.

“But if the bite is only fatal to vampires then Matt…”

“Would still have been ripped to shreds,” Damon said bluntly. 

“And Stefan sacrificed himself to save you? How?” Liz asked, trying to get the whole picture here. 

“Apparently there is a cure for werewolf bites. The blood of the only vampire werewolf hybrid in existence…” Damon started. 

“Wait, that was his blood?” Ric asked disgustedly. 

“I’m assuming,” Damon shrugged. “It was definitely blood. Definitely not human. Tasted sort of like a vampire but with distinct canine undertones, so there’s not really anything else it could have been.” 

Liz looked disgusted at the idea that Damon could taste the differences like that in blood and was discussing it like he was talking about wine. “Vampire werewolf hybrids are a thing?” 

“Not usually,” Damon told her. “It’s a long story, but he’s the only one of his kind. He’s also the most evil AND the most powerful being we know of. And my brother is now his slave for the next ten years to pay for the cure,” he snapped. “So…if you’re not here to kill me, then you’re just gonna have to wait because I’m going back to bed. Nearly dying takes a lot out of you as it turns out,” Damon said turning to head back upstairs. “I’m sure Ric can answer any other questions you have.”

“Thanks for throwing me under the bus, dick!” Ric called after him and Damon just waved a hand over his head without looking back. 

Liz wasn’t going to waste the opportunity she had here, though. “What did you mean you would come back if he killed you?” 

Ric held up his hand. “My ring. If I die by anything supernatural, including Damon, it brings me back to life. Wouldn’t have been the first time he killed me,” Ric joked. 

“You’re serious…he’s actually killed you before?” Liz asked horrified. 

“Yeah, but it was self-defense. I was trying to kill him at the time. Almost succeeded too. This was back when I first got to town, before we became friends and I realized that he wasn’t that bad of a guy.” 

“That ring…it’s like the one Jeremy has? Is that how he survived?” 

“Yes it’s like Jeremy’s but no it’s not how he survived. You’re not supernatural so it couldn’t protect him. A witch did a spell to resurrect him. It was a one shot deal though and we’re still waiting to find out what the ‘dire consequences’ are,” Ric explained. 

“Okay…” Liz said, trying to wrap her mind around that too. Clearly it wasn’t something that could be used regularly though so she tried to put it out of her mind. “Can you tell me anything about the real story of what happened the other night?” 

Ric winced and waved her into the other room to sit down for this one. “It’s a long story. Basically, the vampire werewolf hybrid that was mentioned…he was one of the original vampires, but he was born of a werewolf which meant that the first time he killed anyone, his werewolf side would have been activated. He was cursed by a witch though who knew that it would make him too powerful to have both. What happened the other night was a ritual to break that curse. It involved the living sacrifice of a werewolf, Jules, a vampire…Klaus turned Jenna to use her as payback for us trying to stop him, and a human doppelganger, Elena.” 

“That’s how Damon got bit isn’t it? He was going to use Caroline as the vampire wasn’t he?” Liz asked fearfully, putting the pieces together between what she learned here and what Caroline had mentioned. 

“Yeah. He was. I’m not sure how Matt got mixed up in it all,” he shrugged. “Out of curiosity…what’s the cover story for the deaths?” Ric was doing his best to hold it together for this, but talking about what happened was hitting him hard. 

“Animal attack. Helped by the dead wolf next to the bodies,” Liz told him.

Ric nodded. “The standard line then.” He took a few deep breaths, starting to lose his hold on his emotions. “Did you have any more questions?” 

Liz shook her head. “No. I’ll let you get back to your day. Just…tell Damon we’re good okay?” Saving her daughter from ending up one of those bodies wiped the slate clean as far as she was concerned. “And if either of you need anything…let me know.” She knew that they had both lost a lot in this mess and it could have been her in this position far too easily for her comfort. When Ric just nodded, she showed herself out.


	3. Chapter 3

Ric took a few minutes to collect himself before he went to the kitchen to make some coffee and try to scrounge up some breakfast. There was almost nothing to eat in the house, but he was surprised there was anything at all before he remembered that Elena had stayed there often. That sent another stab of pain through him and he decided to just stick with coffee. Maybe in a few hours he would be able to stomach food. He added a generous helping of whiskey to his coffee and sat at the table sipping it for a long time. He finished most of the pot along with a good portion of the whiskey before he decided to try and eat something. He settled on a few pieces of buttered toast. 

It was well after noon when Damon came back downstairs and headed for the basement without a word. It wasn’t until he came back up sipping on a blood bag that he even acknowledged Ric’s presence with a nod as he sat down on the couch, pouring a large glass of whiskey to go with his blood. Ric knew that he had been more starved then he had let on this morning. He usually had one blood bag a day. Sometimes two if he had a rough day that involved a lot of healing. This was his third today and he’d slept through most of it. They sat in silence drinking for almost an hour before Ric said, “Well since you’re apparently gonna be okay, I guess I should head home to my apartment.” The only home he had left since he was now barred from the Gilbert house where he had practically been living for the last few months. 

“You should stay here,” Damon told him. “Your apartment isn’t safe anymore. Klaus has access. So does Stefan who is currently working for Klaus. And Katherine. And who knows who else Klaus invited in when he was using your body.” It was an excuse. Damon just didn’t want to be alone. He’d been alone for far too long and now that he was used to not being alone again, he couldn’t bear it. Ric was all he had left just as much as he was all Ric had left. 

“You sure you don’t mind?” Ric asked. He knew that it was an excuse just as well as Damon did. This house was open to anyone and everyone. When Elena died the deed reverted back to Damon. He didn’t want to be alone any more than Damon did though. 

“Not at all. There’s plenty of room,” Damon assured him. 

“Okay. Then yeah. I’ll get my stuff moved over from the apartment tomorrow and see if I can figure something out with John to get my stuff from over there,” Ric agreed.

“You let me handle John. I’ll have your stuff here by nightfall,” Damon said with a cold smirk. 

“Okay. And I’ll definitely have to do some grocery shopping,” Ric added. “I’ve had a little too much to drink to go today though.”

“I can offer you a quick sober-up,” Damon suggested, biting his wrist and holding it out to Ric. 

“I think I’m gonna pass. My luck and I’ll go out there and get in a car accident and end up a vampire.”

Damon shrugged. “Suit yourself. But I don’t do grocery shopping so you’ll have to make do for today.” 

“I’ll manage.” 

Other than the brief time Damon disappeared to use the phone, the rest of the day was spent mostly in silence as both men drowned their sorrows in massive quantities of whiskey. Damon heard a car approach in the early evening, followed by scuffling around the front door, but waited until the car left, as per the agreement, to tell Ric, “Your stuff is here.” 

Ric nodded and got up and went to the door, surprised to see everything just stacked there with no one in sight. He realized that Damon must have known which meant that John had demanded not to see either of them. Whatever. He didn’t really care. He just started bringing it all in the house, stacking it in the entryway for now and then started lugging it upstairs, cursing Damon under his breath for not helping, knowing that the vampire could hear him anyway. 

Once he got back, Damon handed him a refilled drink with a smirk and Ric just rolled his eyes as he took it. “Feel free to customize your room as you want. I’ll foot the bill for any construction you want done since that’s permanent, but anything else is on you.”

“I’m good without construction, thanks,” Ric assured him. The room itself was almost as big as Ric’s entire apartment and the attached bathroom was pretty nice too. They both went to bed pretty early. Or more like stumbled up the stairs to pass out. Well Damon did anyway. Ric only made it as far as the stairs and passed out on them. It was after midnight before he woke up enough to drag himself the rest of the way up to his room. Still dusty and with the dirty linens since none of his sheets had been at the Gilbert house. 

When he woke up the next morning, more than a little sore and completely hungover, he decided to get the room halfway presentable before he went to get the rest of his stuff. But first…asprin, coffee, and lots of water. Damon was already up and had a pot of coffee brewing. Bastard wasn’t even hungover. Stupid vampire physiology. Ric felt bad enough right now he was almost tempted to let Damon heal him even if it did end up turning him into a vampire. Once he felt halfway human again, he went up to get the room dusted and strip the bed. 

Damon was nice enough to come with him to his apartment, but if not for the fact that he was handy for the heavy lifting, he would have been more hindrance than help. He wouldn’t stop touching things and taking things out of the boxes Ric put them in to inspect them and making snarky comments about everything in sight. There wasn’t even that much heavy stuff to move. Ric wasn’t taking any of his furniture. He was still keeping the apartment since he owned it instead of renting and there was plenty of furniture at the boarding house already. His books and bookshelves were the only really heavy things, and Damon lifted them like they were nothing while Ric loaded everything else in the two cars. 

Once they got everything moved in, Ric had time to go grocery shopping before he got back and hit the bottle again, quickly catching up with Damon who had a head start. He didn’t go quite as overboard today since he had to be at school in the morning, but he was still plenty soused when he made it upstairs. At least he did make it all the way up this time. 

It went much the same way for the next two months. When Ric got home from school he joined Damon who had already been drinking for a while. Damon took the time while he was at school to go out feeding in nearby towns, but it was frustrating because he had to be so very careful not to kill anyone when all he wanted to do was go on a killing spree. Liz was watching him too carefully though, monitoring both Mystic Falls and the surrounding areas for suspicious deaths. They were getting there, but she still didn’t completely trust him. Other than school and feeding, with the occasional grocery trip thrown in, neither of them ever left the house or even had company other than Liz coming by once or twice a week to check on them and she was more than a little worried. 

During that time, Damon and Ric spent a lot of time talking about anything and everything, mostly Elena and even Katherine for Damon and Jenna and Isobel for Ric, but pretty much every topic of their lives had been mentioned at one point. They probably knew each other better than anyone knew either of them by that point. A lot of their discussions turned into fights. It even came to blows more than once, though Damon did refrain from killing Ric. Just barely sometimes. Those times were usually when he ended up with stakes buried in his gut courtesy of Ric’s wrist holster that he never took off. Ric never even tried for a killing blow though either. After the fights they generally slept it off and pretended it never happened the next day. Just like Ric pretended that his coffee didn’t have a few drops of vampire blood in it the morning after. Damon wouldn’t appreciate his kindness being pointed out and it wasn’t enough to stay in his system for more than an hour or so anyway. Just enough to heal him.


	4. Chapter 4

Once school let out for the summer, Liz had enough of their moping. “Come on. You two need to get out of the house. Even if it’s just shifting your drinking to the grill for a few hours.”

Damon glared at her over his drink. ”Do you realize that the last time I lost a woman I loved I spent nearly fifty years like this?” 

“And what did your friends have to say about that?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“I don’t have friends,” Damon snapped. 

“Well you do now. So let’s go,” Liz said firmly, not taking no for an answer. She all but dragged them out to Damon’s car and followed them to the grill, marching them up to the bar and sitting them down. “Now. You will stay here for at least three hours. Feel free to get some food or play some pool or whatever, but you don’t leave this building for at least that long. And you will do the same at least once a week. Got it?” 

“Fine,” Ric grumbled, and Damon just glared. Liz gave them both a smug look before turning and going back to work. She would prefer to get them to stop drinking so much too, but baby steps. 

Much of the next few hours was spent complaining about busybody sheriffs who couldn’t mind their own business, much to the bartender’s amusement as she kept their drinks filled. Neither of them left the bar the entire time, and once their three hours were up they headed home. Neither of them would admit how good it had felt to get out for a while though. 

Once they were home, they continued drinking there and Damon was the first to bring up the subject. “You could bring someone home sometime you know.” 

“So could you,” Ric pointed out. Nothing else was said on the matter for the next few weeks.

Their weekly trips to the grill continued, just to keep the sheriff off their backs and they even played a few games of pool on those nights after the first few times. It wasn’t until the bartended jokingly called it their date night that the idea stuck in Damon’s brain and didn’t want to leave. It was a few days later when their next fight happened that the dam broke. 

Damon pinned Ric against the wall by his throat, and Ric almost took a swing, which was usually how these things started, but Ric stopped. There was something different in Damon’s eyes this time. Something mixed with the anger that he couldn’t quite place. He was still trying to figure it out when Damon’s lips crashed into his. Ric froze for a long moment before he was kissing him back. It was as much a fight for dominance as a kiss, and Ric was more than surprised when he won, spinning them around so that he was the one pinning Damon to the wall. He knew that he never could have done that unless Damon let him. 

When Damon felt Ric’s erection pressing against his hip as the taller man’s lips and teeth moved to ravage his neck, he let out a moan as his hands moved to the front of Ric’s pants and started to undo them and Ric did the same with his. It didn’t take long before both their pants were shoved down as their naked erections slid together, as their pre-cum coated them both. They had both been dry for almost four months. Damon’s hand wrapped in Ric’s hair as he yanked his head up for another hard kiss. 

After a few minutes of that, Ric couldn’t take any more so he spun Damon around so that he was facing the wall, knowing full well that Damon could and would stop him if he didn’t want this, but Damon just stuck his ass out in invitation. Ric spread his cheeks and slid a finger inside Damon’s impossibly tight hole giving a growling moan at the feel of him. 

Damon didn’t have the patience for all that though. “I’m a vampire, Ric. I won’t break. Just fuck me already.” With as long as it had been the pain would take the edge off them both enough that it wouldn’t end too soon anyway and Damon desperately wanted to be punished right now. He needed that pain as much as he needed the pleasure that would come with it. 

Ric removed his finger and lined himself up before slamming in hard, letting out a whimper to accompany Damon’s yelp. He may not have as much pain with it as Damon, but Damon was tight enough and the lubrication of their pre-cum was light enough that there was still enough to pain to take his edge off too and it was perfect. 

Damon definitely felt himself tear even as it healed almost immediately and he was pressing himself back against Ric for more and Ric took the hint and started moving, setting a bruising pace. Damon’s hands braced himself against the wall as Ric fucked him into it, and it didn’t take long for the pain to recede enough to have the perfect mix of pleasure and pain, made even better when Ric’s hand fisted in his hair and he yanked Damon’s head back to place sharp bites and hard sucks over the vampire’s neck. 

Ric’s other hand was gripping Damon’s hip tight enough that bruises were forming and healing in cycles with every forceful thrust of his hips. When Damon could feel Ric getting close, he shifted his position slightly and let out a gasping moan as the next thrust dragged over his prostate and when Ric blew inside him, Damon painted the wall in white, completely untouched. Ric leaned his weight heavily against Damon, who was leaning on the wall, as they both took a moment to catch their breath. 

After a few minutes, once they were breathing normally again, Ric pulled his softening cock out of Damon, and tucked it back in his pants before turning to head upstairs and Damon was only a minute behind him. That was how their normal fights usually ended too, but both of them couldn’t help but like this kind of fighting much better. 

The next day, as usual, neither of them mentioned what had happened and acted like nothing had changed. And it hadn’t for the most part. There were occasional smiles from them every once in a while, and their next trip to the grill, they got food this time along with playing a little pool and drinking non-stop, but that was it. It was almost two weeks before their next fight, and this time it was Ric who initiated the kiss before they even got off the couch and Damon responded with just as much gusto as last time. 

It wasn’t long before Damon was bent over the arm of the couch, pants yanked down with Ric slamming hard and fast into his impossibly tight ass. This time Ric reached around and pumped Damon’s cock in time with his harsh thrusts and once again they spilled over together as the bites and bruises on Damon’s body healed over quickly. Instead of going straight upstairs once he had his pants back up, Ric poured them both another drink and handed Damon his as the vampire settled back into his seat, their argument forgotten. 

After that, they both started picking fights more often, realizing how much better they felt afterwards. It was a release of all of their pent up stress and emotions along with the pain that they both felt like they deserved and it was both freeing and healing. There was still nothing said about those times afterwards, but Damon…being the one footing the liquor bill…noticed that it was getting lower. They still always had a drink in their hands, but they were drinking slower. 

By the time Ric went back to teaching for the new school year, they were both starting to feel…not normal…but steady, at least. Not like they were going to shatter at any moment. Damon even attended the annual back to school party, though he didn’t stay very long and as soon as he got home, Ric picked a fight over it. Not because he was mad that Damon went. Just because he wanted to fight. 

Ric had met him in the entryway as soon as he walked in, and soon enough he was fucking Damon against the wall. They hadn’t been going long when the door opened. “Hey guys…oh my god!” Liz threw an arm over her eyes and turned and walked right back out the door. 

“Fuck, Ric. Don’t stop,” Damon complained when Ric froze and he quickly got back into the action. Once they were done, Damon grabbed a rag and wiped off the wall before opening the front door and saying. “Liz. So nice of you to stop by. Would you like a drink?” 

She looked at him, taking note of his hair that was still sticking up all over the place, and nodded. “Sure. Thanks.” When she noticed the wet spot on the wall, she pointedly looked elsewhere as they stepped into the living room where Ric had already poured three drinks and handed her one. “So…how long has this been going on?” 

“A couple months,” Damon said with a shrug. “We’re not together or anything, but…”

“It’s better than beating the crap out of each other when we fight,” Ric finished with a chuckle. “Especially since we don’t all have vampire healing.”


	5. Chapter 5

Ric wasn’t sure why he felt that pang in his chest when Damon was so quick to explain that they weren’t together any more than Damon knew why it had been so hard for him to say. Maybe it was because it was the first time what they were doing had been mentioned out loud. They were both a little distracted during the next couple hours as they chatted with Liz. The next day though, something was different. When Ric shoved Damon against the wall and kissed him, he ripped his shirt open, groping his hands over Damon’s hard chest and stomach. 

Damon was caught off guard by the move, but wasted no time reciprocating. This was the first time they had really touched each other and he hadn’t even realized how much he missed it. The feel of warm hands sliding over his skin. He moved away from the wall enough to strip his shirt off his shoulders before shoving Ric’s off as well and when the taller man pressed back against him, Damon couldn’t help but moan at the skin contact as he pulled Ric in tighter. 

Ric was taken aback at how badly he needed more of this. The feel of skin on skin for the first time in so long was like breathing his first breath of fresh air. When their pants were around their knees and he spun Damon around, he pressed his whole body tightly against the vampire’s back as he pounded into him. It wasn’t quite as rough as usual, though there were still a few rapidly healing bruises briefly marring Damon’s flawless flesh. Mostly from Ric’s teeth and lips that included Damon’s shoulders in the punishment this time. His hands were too busy gripping over the vampire’s chest and stomach as he held him tightly. When they were done, they both did up their pants, picked up their discarded shirts and headed upstairs without another word. They both had a lot on their minds this time.

Damon went up to his room and plopped down on his bed, but sleep was the farthest thing from his mind this time. Most people wouldn’t believe it, but he was a rather introspective person. He just didn’t share. Just because he had a tendency to lose his temper and do stupid shit didn’t take away from that. Hell, if he didn’t know himself so well, he would be a hundred times worse. After as long as he spent with his humanity off, this self-analysis was how he kept himself connected to his humanity. If he understood what he was feeling and why then he could cope with it easier. It was how he had come to terms with his feelings for Elena so easily and how he could so freely admit it, even though she didn’t feel the same. 

Needless to say, Damon wasn’t exactly used to getting blindsided by his feelings. Surprised with where they were going, sure, but not suddenly beat in the head with intense fully formed emotions. It made them so much harder to figure out. Not what he felt exactly. He knew now that he loved Ric. That part wasn’t in question. But why? How? When? Those were all questions he needed the answers to. He turned his mind to the question of when first. From there it should be easier to figure out the rest. He basically rewound time in his head and was more than a little surprised when he figured it out. It also explained why he hadn’t noticed. 

He’d still been drowning in his grief when it started and it had been buried under that. The day he woke up after the werewolf bite, Ric had defended him. Actually stood between him and a threat. And then not even flinched when Damon threatened to kill him. Damon had pushed and Ric had pushed back, saying the only thing that could have gotten through to him at that time. He had understood Damon well enough to know how to reach him and to know that he would be less testy once he’d had some blood. Once those questions were answered came the big one. What to do about it. 

Ric was his best friend. His confidante. His drinking buddy. His roommate. The only person close to him that he had left in this world. Could he really put that at risk? Did he even have a choice? That can of worms was open now. Could it even be closed again? He didn’t think so. They had crossed a line tonight and it couldn’t be taken back. He’d been in similar enough situations to know that trying to take it back would be more likely to blow up in their faces than moving forward would. So, no. There wasn’t a choice. 

Ric was also laying in bed but, not being nearly as introspective as Damon, his thoughts ran more along the lines of…Holy shit. What the hell am I doing? Am I seriously falling for Damon fucking Salvatore of all people? How could this even happen? Oh god, someone just shoot me now. This is a complete disaster. What am I gonna do? As a result, when he finally did fall asleep, he slept much more fitfully than the vampire in the next room. 

The next day, when Ric got home from school, quite a bit later than usual due to his attempts to put seeing Damon off as long as possible, Damon had a drink ready for him and handed it over wordlessly as he plopped on the couch. They rarely needed words between them and half the time they sat in silence anyway, but this time it felt heavier for some reason. Or maybe that was just his thoughts that were heavier as they kept straying to the raven-haired vampire sitting beside him. 

Damon’s thoughts were heavier than usual too as he tried to decide the best way to address the elephant in the room before he decided what the hell. Impulsive and brash were kinda his trademark. He set his drink down and looked at Ric, waiting until his friend met his eyes before he leaned in. Slow enough to give Ric a chance to stop him, but fast enough to keep from losing his nerve. His lips brushed lightly over Ric’s before moving away just barely. 

Ric felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. What the fuck was happening here? Did he just step into the twilight zone or something? This wasn’t how he and Damon worked. That light quick brush of lips was enough to send sparks through Ric’s body and he wanted more so badly he could barely stand it, but couldn’t bring himself to move. Was this just a game Damon was playing? Had he picked up on Ric’s feelings and decided to fuck with him? 

It was only a heartbeat before Damon’s lips were coming in for another pass, this time pressing more firmly and Ric was completely helpless to do anything but lean into it. It only lingered for a moment and this time when Damon pulled away, Ric followed him. That was all the encouragement Damon needed as his hands went to Ric’s jaws and he deepened the kiss. Slowly and gently, pouring his whole heart into it. “Damon…?” Ric breathed out confusedly when it ended. 

Their breaths mingled in the small space between their lips as Damon whispered, “Shh. Just go with it,” and kissed him again. Ric almost wondered if Damon had used his compulsion with that statement because he couldn’t do anything but exactly what Damon had said. He knew that Damon couldn’t compel him with their eyes closed though. That knowledge still didn’t give him any more power in this situation. 

The moment Ric started kissing him back, Damon knew that his feelings weren’t one sided and as Ric surrendered himself to what was happening, Damon did the same. When he felt Ric’s shaking hands slowly unbuttoning his shirt, Damon moved to do the same, keeping the same slow pace. This was going to be everything that the rest of their encounters wasn’t. Starting with… “Let’s go upstairs,” Damon breathed out as his lips gently trailed over Ric’s now bare shoulders. Ric could do nothing but nod and follow Damon as he got up and headed for his room. 

Ric realized that he’d never been in Damon’s room before, but he didn’t get a chance to look around much before he was being pressed back slowly onto the bed as Damon slid over top of him and captured his lips again in another slow sweet kiss before moving back down over his neck and shoulders and then continuing down and as new territory was charted between them his breathing sped up exponentially. As Damon undid his pants, he lifted his hips to allow the vampire to slide them off, not even noticing Damon get rid of his own too and they were fully naked together for the first time.

Damon moved back over Ric, grabbing the lube from his bedside drawer. This time it was his turn to do the taking. He knew that Ric couldn’t take the same abuse he could which is why he hadn’t done so already. Before they were to the point where they could take their time. He could feel Ric’s nerves as his slick finger circled Ric’s tight hole, but when he wasn’t stopped, Damon slid it in slowly, going straight for the sweet spot at the same moment he took Ric’s cock in his mouth. 

Ric cried out in pleasure, arching up off the bed as his hand tangled in Damon’s hair, pressing himself all the way to the root in Damon’s mouth, but the vampire took it like a pro, not gagging or pulling away at all. As the head scraped the back of Damon’s throat he could feel Damon swallowing around it and he very nearly came then and there, not even noticing Damon sliding a second finger inside him. The best blowjob of his life ended as Damon slid slowly back up his body and then he felt Damon’s rock hard length pressing against his hole. Even if he were going to protest he didn’t get a chance as Damon’s lips slid back over his and the vampire began to press in slowly. 

It was all Damon could do to hold himself back from just slamming into the tight heat, but this wasn’t about hard and fast and he had no idea how much, if any, experience Ric had with this part, so he sheathed himself slowly and gently. Once he was in, he gave Ric a moment to adjust, leaning his forehead against Ric’s as they both breathed heavily, trying to keep some measure of control. When Ric’s hips pressed up experimentally, Damon took that as the hint to start moving, dragging slowly in and out, brushing the prostate with every third press. 

As Damon moved over him and in him, Ric found himself getting lost in the sensations and his nerves and worried and confusions just bled away in the haze of pure pleasure. His hands slid up Damon’s arms and shoulders, over his face and through his hair as their lips met and parted and met again before moving on. As Damon’s lips and tongue moved over his neck, Ric lifted his head to press a line of kisses over Damon’s shoulder as both their hands slid over every inch of skin they could reach. 

Damon couldn’t keep the slow pace for long and found himself speeding up as the passion in the room ramped higher. He was able to keep them both from getting too close to the edge for a good long while though and when he couldn’t hold it anymore, he slid a hand between them and gripped Ric’s throbbing length to stroke in time with his thrusts as they turned frantic and it wasn’t long before Ric’s warm cum was splashing over Damon’s hand and the vampire cried out Ric’s name as his own orgasm was milked from him by Ric’s

Damon let part of his weight collapse on Ric, unable to hold himself up completely anymore, but still enough not to be uncomfortable for Ric, as he buried his face in Ric’s neck, both of them panting for breath. Ric’s arms slid around Damon, one hand coming to rest at the nape of his neck as the other splayed across his lower back. It was a long moment before the silence was broken by Ric’s quiet and almost fearful, “Damon? Wh-what is this?” 

Damon gulped heavily before lifting himself up enough to look in Ric’s blue eyes as his hand moved to rest gently against his cheek. “This is whatever you want it to be, Ric,” he whispered. 

“A-and what do /you/ want it to be?” Ric asked, getting lost in the depth of Damon’s eyes. 

“Everything,” Damon breathed out. 

Ric’s face slowly pulled into a smile as he could see the emotion in Damon’s eyes agreeing with that statement and he lifted his head for a slow loving kiss before agreeing, “Everything sounds perfect to me.” 

“I love you, Ric,” Damon admitted, never having had the problem that some seemed to with those words. 

“I-I love you too, Damon,” Ric stammered a bit, not quite as courageous as Damon there, but determined enough to do it anyway. 

Damon grinned and leaned down for one more lingering kiss before rolling to the side. “Stay?” he asked hopefully. 

“For the night?” Ric asked curiously. 

“The night…forever…whichever,” Damon shrugged as he traced his fingers over Ric’s chest absentmindedly. 

“Okay,” Ric agreed to it all. 

“Good,” Damon smirked. “But your tacky décor can stay where it is.” Clothes and books and such he would make room for, but the rest not so much. 

Ric barked a laugh and shook his head as he rolled to his side to face Damon. “Dick.” 

“Well we all know how much you love dicks,” Damon teased playfully. 

Rick rolled his eyes and leaned forward for a kiss, taking the opportunity to bite Damon’s lip before he said, “I don’t know about you, but I need a shower.” 

“Good thing there’s plenty of room for two,” Damon smirked as he got up and headed that way, Ric hot on his heels.


End file.
